Government

The City of Manistee was incorporated in 1869 and is the county seat of Manistee County. The City of Manistee operates under state and federal laws, the City Charter, local ordinances and various adopted policies. The Manistee City Council is the legislative and governing body of the city. The council determines policy for the city including establishing ordinances and goals and objectives designed to meet the needs of Manistee’s citizens.

The City Council receives advice and recommendations from a variety of citizen boards and commissions. All operational items for the city are handled by the city administration. Policies established by the City Council are carried out by the city manager. The city manager directs the department heads of the city. The city administration is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the city.

The City Council is the governing body for the City of Manistee. The council consists of seven members who serve two-year terms. Members are nominated by district but elected at large by voters. Elections are nonpartisan. Terms are staggered with districts 1,3, 5 and 7 elected one year while districts 2, 4 and 6 are elected the next year.

The city has a variety of departments. Each department has a great deal of autonomy, which is expected given the very disparate types of services that they provide. However, each department works closely with the other departments to ensure smooth service delivery and elimination of redundancy. Weekly department head meetings ensure that all departments are coordinating and serve as a venue for information sharing between departments.

The city has established a number of boards and commissions. Each of these serves a different role with most being advisory in nature. Some are state-mandated and others are purely a local creation; however they all make significant contributions to the community and its betterment.